| Subject: Support for abuse in jails - Ralf has to put up with this |
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Pam
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Date Posted: 10:40:21 04/19/02 Fri
Subject: Support for abuse in jails in the state of Fl - very good
COURAGE IN THE FACE OF FEAR
The DOC in Florida (indeed in most states) maintains
their secret world by punishing not only inmates who
report abuses, but will just as quickly turn on their
own guards who try to report unprofessional behavior.
Because of the threats and retaliation, there is a
great reluctance to speak out.
There is another group of DOC victims other than
prisoners and guards who talk.... They are an easily
forgotten group, millions strong, who are suffering in
their world of self-imposed silence. The families and
friends who walk on eggshells, hoping negative
attention will be not be focused on their prisoner are
held in check by the fear of DOC retaliation on them
and their prisoner in the form of blocked mail,
transfers to remote or cruel locations, and worse.
The families of prisoners, are more often than not
shunned by their communities, ignored by those in
power, and treated with disrespect by the DOC. What
have they done to warrant this distain? They dared to
continue to Love someone the rest of society threw
away.
I want to introduce you to five courageous women who
have broken the DOC imposed barriers to truth this
week. I urge you to support them in their efforts,
because we can't keep calling everyone liars who go up
against those 'honest' guards at the prisons.
Despite the efforts of DOC employees to cover up the
truth, I can see the big picture and know that the
walls really are becoming transparent. The only thing
slowing us down is the reluctance of good people to
stand up and tell their stories for fear of the risks
involved.
In the first story, three ladies with husbands in
Columbia CI report on being groped while being
intimately searched. The improper search is glossed
over and quickly dismissed in the following article.
Their husbands have been quickly moved and not near
enough words are spent on the retaliation that is in
process because the wives went to the press. This is
standard coverage. Abuse is reported, the media calls
the DOC, the DOC denies all, end of story. Family and
prisoner are punished so it doesn't happen again.
DOC spokeswoman Debbie Buchanan
[buchanan.debra@mail.dc.state.fl.us] earns her living
defending the DOC and is quite good at it. Many of us
have learned to see past the denials of impropriety,
but many still want to believe that DOC personnel
never lie.
The intimate search was uncalled for, all but one of
the husbands have been moved to separate them from
their families - again, and still the public doesn't
and may never know the details. And all of this is
foreseeable. DOC standard behavior when truth begins
to leak out is to isolate the prisoner from the
outside, get control of the families using fear so
that other families don't speak out.
These ladies don't even have access to the internet,
so their efforts are very courageous. They have no
idea how much support there is out here. The best
thing this reporter did for these ladies is to include
their phone numbers. They may get threatening calls
from errant guards, but if you are on your toes, they
will also get many calls of support.
Kay Lee
**************************************
CONTACT
Mrs. Griffis at 754-4169
Mrs. Hudson at 961-8757
Mrs. Montgomery at 961-9684.
http://www.lakecityreporter.com/news/stories/010405n3.html
April 5, 2001
Love behind bars presents unique challenges for
inmates, wives
By JOHN WRIGHT
jwright@lakecityreporter.com
Lake City Reporter
April 5, 2001
Email this story.
LAKE CITY
Tammi Hudson, Debra Griffis and Anne Montgomery have
something in common: They've never seen their husbands
outside of prison. But the three women all say their
marriages are as meaningful as conventional ones, if
not more so.
"We have to work double hard," said Montgomery, whose
husband, Charles H. Montgomery, 48, is an inmate at
Columbia Correctional Institution. "That's what makes
it extra special."
Mrs. Montgomery, 56, has been visiting her husband for
10 years since they met through her son, who was
incarcerated with Montgomery. They got married six
years ago.
Montgomery is serving a 40-year sentence for armed
burglary and kidnapping, according to the state
Department of Corrections. His scheduled release date
is Sept. 29, 2007.
"I want to have a life with my husband before I get
too old," Mrs. Montgomery said. "We love our men. He
has made me happy. Why can't I stand by him? I don't
care if people hate me."
The women can visit with their husbands for 12 hours a
week on Saturday and Sunday. They hold hands and walk
around the visitation park, sit and talk, and play
hangman or cards. According to DOC regulations,
they're allowed one kiss and hug at the beginning of
each visit, and one more at the end.
The women say they know their husbands have made
mistakes, but everybody deserves another chance. "All
inmates aren't bad," Hudson said. "They do straighten
up."
Hudson, 38, said she met her husband, Roger W. Hudson,
also 38, through Sheila Woods' "Have a Friend" club,
which runs in the Examiner newspaper.
"I just wanted a friend to write to," she said. "We
just got closer and closer."
They met last April and were married Dec. 9. Hudson,
who used to live in Ormond Beach, moved here so she
wouldn't have to drive so far to visit her husband,
who is serving a 40-year sentence for burglary,
robbery, kidnapping and attempted sexual battery. His
scheduled release date is Dec. 28, 2015, according to
the DOC.
Mrs. Griffis, 44, and her husband, Roy A. Griffis, 36,
have been married 21 Ž2 years. They met in November
1996, when he was a cellmate of her son's in the
Okaloosa County jail. He was sent to prison in March
1998. Mrs. Griffis also moved to Lake City so she
could be closer to her husband.
"I've followed him all the way," she said.
Griffis is serving a 15-year sentence for burglary and
assault, according to the DOC. His scheduled release
date is Jan. 24, 2004.
Mrs. Griffis, who was married once before for 19
years, said she isn't afraid that Griffis will leave
her once he gets out.
"I'm confident that it's going to work," she said. "I
know he loves me with everything in his heart."
Although they love their husbands and enjoy their
marriages, the three women say it's difficult being
married to someone in prison.
"The wives outside of the prison have to stick
together," Mrs. Griffis said. "If they know you're
associated with anyone who's incarcerated, they don't
want anything to do with you."
"We're all one family," Mrs. Montgomery added. "We're
all going through the same thing."
The three women recently complained that they were
improperly searched by guards in the visitation park
at Columbia Correctional Institution. In letters to
the DOC inspector general's office, they said they
were patted down in the groin area and forced to shake
out their bras.
"We read the letters," DOC spokeswoman Debbie Buchanan
said. "There's nothing in those letters that was
improper.
"You can't imagine how much contraband you can find in
those areas. There was not an improper search."
Last week, Griffis and Hudson were transferred to
prisons in the Panhandle. Their wives believe the
transfers were retaliation for their complaints.
"It just seems like the more we try, the more things
go against us," Mrs. Hudson said. "There's something
wrong with this system."
Mrs. Griffis said she can't afford to move again and
will have to drive to visit her husband. She hasn't
heard from him in 21Ž2 weeks.
"It's rough not knowing if he's OK," she said.
"They've broken the connection that my husband and I
had."
The three women said they're interested in starting a
local support group for people whose relatives are
incarcerated. Call Mrs. Griffis at 754-4169, Mrs.
Hudson at 961-8757 or Mrs. Montgomery at 961-9684.
Copyright © 192001, Lake City Reporter.
Letters to the Editor
letters@pbpost.com
The Palm Beach Post
West Palm Beach, FL
If you have experienced distress
directly related to DOC activities,
Contact me, Kay Lee,
2613 Larry Court
Eau Gallie, FL 32935
715-831-9071 / 321-253-3673
Making the Walls Transparent
=====
LiveItOut2002@yahoo.com
When ministry becomes your life you begin to live evangelism
Liberty For All
It's Time To Celebrate
There's no time in the spirit
__________________________________________________
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